California high school newspaper runs article about student’s porn career after battle with district administrators

Bear Creek High School student newspaper advisor Kathi Duffel, left, and student journalist Bailey Kirkeby talk about the Lodi Unified School District's attempts at suppressing a story that Kirkeby wrote about a current 18-year-old student who works in the porn industry, in Stockton, Calif. (Clifford Oto/AP)

They fought for their right to bare the truth.

Student journalists at a California high school have become news themselves after battling school administrators over their right to publish an article about an 18-year-old student who works in the porn industry.

Fink, an aspiring stripper and porn star, is a member of an erotic video website and sells nude images of herself. She’s already signed a contract with a porn agency and hoped her profile would help people better understand her chosen field of work.

“Adult entertainers aren’t just objects, they are actual people. They have feelings, they have goals, they have motivation,” Fink told CBS Sacramento.

“When people found out I was doing that, they assumed all these things about me and I was like, ‘oh no, that’s not true.’”

But school administrators caught wind of the article, kicking off a weeks-long dispute between the Lodi Unified School District and the student editors, who were backed by newspaper’s longtime adviser, Kathi Duffel.

The English teacher accused district officials of censorship for demanding to see the article ahead of its publication, which prompted them to threaten her job. In an April 11 letter, Superintendent Cathy Nichols-Washer warned of punishment “up to and including dismissal” if she refused.

“This is a whole new level of district administrators who have lost their minds, quite frankly,” Duffel said in response.

Not intimidated by the threats, Duffel rebuffed their request on the grounds of free speech, but agreed to let a lawyer review the piece.

Matthew Cate, who represents the newspaper adviser and the student who wrote the article, concluded it did not violate any education codes. Paul Grant, a lawyer for the district, informed Cate school officials wouldn’t prevent publication of the story. They did however, still take issue with Duffel’s refusal to submit the article for review.

“Because the district has been denied an opportunity to preview the article, the district does not endorse it,” the district said in a statement.

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“Because we are charged with the education and care of our community’s children, we will always be diligent in our efforts to provide a safe learning environment for all students, while complying with our obligations under law.”

“Throughout their high school years, students are often told to follow their dreams and pursue what they love,” it reads. “Despite encountering obstacles — such as a difficult freshman year and leaving her house — Caitlin Fink, an 18-year-old senior at Bear creek who recently started a career in adult entertainment, is doing just that.”